Light in the darkness
by PrincesssShani
Summary: Simba is a lonely abused young cub, neglected by His so called parents, and forbidden from even speaking to another cub, but one event will change His life forever, as He embarks on a journey He never imagined, to face a challenge He never expected.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, I just wanted to let you guys know that this story will be dark at times, but it is appropriate for older children and teens. Also a heads up, Mufasa and Sarabi are not nice in this to say the least.**

 **P.S: Mufasa and Sarabi are extremely out of character in this..**

* * *

"I-I can't Dad!" Simba whimpered, trying to fight back tears.

"Do it Simba!" Mufasa growled, extending His claws threateningly at His son.

"P-please don't force me!" Simba begged, "I can't!"

"Do as I say!" Mufasa roared, nearly scaring Simba half to death.

Young Simba looked down at a small male cub laying on the ground shaking in fear, afraid of what was going to happen to Him. Simba extended His claws then raised His paw in the air, and brought it down on the cub's neck. The other young cub started to gurgle and cough up blood, while staring into Simba's eyes with horror, wondering why He was doing this.

This was apart of Simba's training to become king, Mufasa would constantly tell Him He needed to be harder if He wanted to be king, and often made Him kill innocent creatures. The king even went as far as to make Simba fight Him at times, much to Sarabi's complaint, but He really gave Her no say.

Not that She didn't fully support what Her husband was doing, but sometimes He would take it a bit to far. Such as fracturing Simba's rib, or knocking Him out because He threw Him on the ground to hard.

The cub Simba had in His grasp slowly stopped moving, as the life started to drain from His eyes. Eventually all of His movement ceased, and He died right then and there with Simba's claw marks embedded in His throat.

The young prince felt a sick feeling in His stomach, while His Father was satisfied with His son's actions.

"Well done Simba," Mufasa grinned, seeming to have enjoyed it.

"B-but I killed Him!" Simba cried, bursting into tears.

Mufasa rolled His eyes, and looked down at Simba with disgust.

"Simba He was going to die eventually one way or another!" Mufasa scoffed.

"W-what do you mean Dad?" Simba asked.

"How many times must I tell you to call me Mufasa!" The king barked, "don't call me your Father!"

"I'm sorry." Simba sniffled, not wanting to make Him mad.

"All males are exiled or killed once they reach adolescents," Mufasa informed Him, "it's for the greater good."

"I-I don't understand!" Simba said, clearly upset.

"Any male is a threat to your throne," Mufasa said, "you'll understand when your older."

Simba wondered how His Father could look and act so cold towards His own subjects. Mufasa didn't seem to care about anyone, and only worried about His precious throne! Truthfully Simba didn't want it at all, after seeing what it did to Mufasa, but He would never ever tell Mufasa that.

"Okay," Simba sighed, not wanting to argue with Him.

"Good," Mufasa said, nodding with satisfaction," now come here."

Simba walked closer to His Father, looking down at the ground.

"Simba you need to learn how to fight if your going to defend your territory," Mufasa told Him, "do you remember what we did last time?"

"Yes," Simba nodded meekly.

"Alright, now lay on your back." Mufasa said.

Simba did what He was told, prepared to brace the pain.

After Simba did this, Mufasa started to dig His claws into Simba's tiny chest and started to run them down the front of His body.

"Now, what have I taught you?" Mufasa asked.

"A-a King must n-never show weakness!" Simba groaned, through gritted teeth.

"What else?" Mufasa asked, staring at Simba with an nonchalant expression.

"Y-you must never show mercy or f-forgiveness!" Simba said while squirming, "a-anyone who d-defies you deserves p-pain!"

"Very good!" Mufasa smiled, getting off of Simba.

Simba cried out in pain as soon as Mufasa got off of Him, and rolled over on His chest.

"Maybe this will teach you to do what I ask the first time," Mufasa said, simply.

With that Mufasa walked off casually towards pride rock to rest in His den, like He always did leaving Simba by Himself. Simba got to His paws, then shook the dust off of Himself, before stepping over the cub He had just murdered.

The young cub planned to go to the grasslands pride to visit some of His friends, which He couldn't do often. Mufasa didn't want Simba to have any friends whatsoever, and didn't even know that Simba had been sneaking away to visit His friends in another pride every few days.

The grasslands were a neighboring pride that didn't have any type of relationship with the pride lands at all really, neither bothered each other or had any problems, so the King and His queen gladly welcomed Simba to come any time.

"Simba!" Zazu said, suddenly from behind, "were do you think your going?"

Simba sighed, and turned around to face Zazu, Mufasa's most trusted advisor, basically His eyes and ears.

"Just to the water hole," Simba shrugged, "that's okay isn't it?"

"Don't try to fool me Simba!" Zazu frowned," I know what your up to! try to sneak off somewhere again aren't you?"

"No Zazu!" Simba said nervously, "I was just going to play."

"With whom?" Zazu questioned.

"Just by myself," Simba replied innocently, "you know I am not allowed around other cubs."

"Alright, but any funny business and I'll report straight to your Father!" Zazu huffed.

"Zazu can I please go now?" Simba asked, eager to leave.

"Very well!" Zazu said, "shoo!"

Zazu could be gullible, telling Him lies was like nothing! Simba was happy to get away from His life as a prince for a while to just be normal, even if it was only for a few hours.

* * *

"Come on Josiah!" A young light brown female cub with hazel eyes pouted, "you gotta give me a chance to have the ball!"

"Don't get upset because your losing Yamina!" Josiah teased.

Yamina and Josiah were both brother and Sister, prince and princess of the grassland pride. They spent most of their free time playing around their home, unlike their unfortunate friend Simba.

Both were very free spirited, energetic and full of life. They also both tended to be quite mischievous more often than not, but Josiah was more mischievous than His sister.

"Hey guys!" Simba yelled, running up to them at full speed.

"What's up dude!" Josiah grinned, bumping heads with Simba.

"Hi Simba!" Yamina said, giving Him a friendly nuzzle.

"Woah, what's up with the claw marks?" Josiah asked, looking at Simba's beaten body.

"Uh, I got into an accident." Simba lied, trying to think of a good excuse.

"You sure that was an accident?" Yamina asked, looking closer and the marks, "it looks pretty intentional to me."

"It's nothing really," Simba said quickly, "my Dad just got a little carried away that's all."

Josiah and Yamina shared worried glances, Simba had come with bruises before but they thought nothing of it since He often played ruff.

"Simba did your Dad do that to you on purpose?" Josiah asked, pointing to the marks.

"Uh, n-no," Simba said shaking His head, "well yeah, but I deserved it."

"What did you do that was so bad then?" Josiah asked.

"It's nothing guys, let's just play okay?" Simba asked, wanting to get off the subject.

"I guess..."Yamina said, quietly.

"Well what do you want to play?" Josiah asked, still concerned, but not wanting to say more.

"Hmm, how about tag!" Simba suggested, "your it!"

Simba tapped Josiah on His shoulder before running away laughing contently, Josiah followed closely behind Him laughing as well, Yamina stayed behind for a moment, before deciding to run after them, forgetting about what Simba just said.

They must have played all day, because before they knew it the sun was starting to go down, but Simba didn't pay any attention to the time, but He should have been. By the time sundown rolled around, the trio of cubs were playing pinned yah near the sun bathing rocks, Josiah was creaming both of them but it was still fun.

Pretty soon Josiah and Yamina's Mother, Queen Afia came out to get them for dinner.

"Children!" She called, in Her warm motherly tone, "aren't you hungry?"

"Aww mom! just five more minutes please!" Yamina begged.

"But it's nearly sundown," Afia said, "you ought to be going to bed soon."

"Sundown!" Simba gasped, looking up at the sky.

"You should get home to Simba," Afia told Him, "your parents must be worried about you, unless they are okay with you staying for dinner."

"I wish I could but I gotta go!" Simba said, almost franticly.

"Simba is something the matter?" Afia asked, raising Her eyebrow.

"No, I just gotta go or my Dad will be really upset!" Simba said, "thanks for letting me play though!"

"Anytime Sim-"

Afia stopped speaking when She noticed the long claw marks on Simba chest, going down towards His stomach.

"Simba, what happened to your chest?" Afia asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh, uh I got into some trouble with hyenas!" Simba lied, thinking quickly, "it's nothing really."

"They just attacked you like that?" Afia questioned, "in the pride lands?"

"Yeah," Simba nodded.

"Are you okay?" Afia asked," do you need me to walk you h-"

"No!" Simba yelled, suddenly, "I-I mean no that's okay, i'll be fine on my own really."

Afia found Simba's behavior strange, but decided not to push the matter any further, after all it was really none of Her business what He did.

"If your sure," Afia said, "come on children, your Father's waiting."

"Bye Simba!" Yamina said, not even looking at Him.

Yamina quickly followed behind Her mother, but Josiah stayed behind a few extra minutes to talk to Simba about what He said.

"Simba why did you lie to our mom?" Josiah asked," that's not what you told us earlier."

"I just didn't want Her to freak out or anything!" Simba lied again, "look I have to go okay?"

"Simba your acting really weird today," Josiah stated, "what's going on with you?"

"Just leave alone alright!" Simba snapped, before storming off.

"Wait! I was just trying to help!" Josiah called after Simba, but He didn't listen.

Josiah gave up calling Simba and decided He would just talk to His parents tonight about Simba's strange behavior, He had His suspicions of why Simba had acted that way, but didn't want to jump to conclusions. He just hoped He could help His friend and get to the bottom of what was going on.

* * *

Simba arrived back home just as night fell, He was met at the den entrance by His angry parents.

"Where were you all this time?!" Mufasa boomed, "you know you are to be back at sundown!"

"I was just playing..."Simba said, softly.

"With who?" Mufasa growled, "you know your not to play with anyone!"

"Nobody!" Simba said, just by myself.

"What incompetent fool loses track of the time when He is by Himself?" Mufasa growled, "what is the matter with you?!"

"I was just thinking I could-"

"Thinking?! no you were not thinking!" Mufasa nearly roared," if you used your brain you could remember when to come back!"

"I'm sorry Mufasa..."Simba said, tears welling up in His eyes.

"You are forbidden from leaving the den tomorrow, and Zazu will watch you to make sure you don't!" Mufasa said, glaring at Simba, "do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Simba said, sadly.

"Now get out of my sight!" Mufasa spat, "I don't want to see you again for the rest of the night! you will sleep below pride rock!"

"But it's cold!" Simba protested.

"Is that my problem?" Mufasa said coldly, "maybe next time you won't be such an idiot!"

Simba looked at His mother for help, but got a cold stare in response. The prince decided to do what He was told, and started to trudge down the stairs, but not before turning around to ask something.

"What about dinner?" Simba asked.

"Figure it out!" Mufasa snapped, before going back into the den with Sarabi.

Simba sighed, then decended pride rock. Once He reached the bottom He lay down on the soft green grass at the foot of the stairs, and curled up trying to find warmth. Sometimes He wondered why His parents were so cruel to Him, even for the slightest things, His mother could care less about Him, His Father abused Him constantly, and He had nobody to talk to at Home.

Something had to change, He couldn't go on like this forever. His parents were never going to treat Him with a hint of respect, so He would have to find a way to escape this...but He had nowhere to go! He would become a rouge lion, never having a home, roaming endlessly.

This was all He had, so He would just have to make due with it for the moment.

* * *

 **A/N: Aww! poor Simba! I kind of feel bad for making the little guy suffer, it will only get worse however. I decided to try something different and make Mufasa evil, it's stepping out of my comfort zone a little. Anyway I will update soon, Goodnight!**


	2. chapter 2

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone for reviewing, I appreciate it greatly. I have another chapter for ypu guys, I will post another one later today, thank you!**

* * *

Elsewhere in the Grasslands Yamina, Josiah, and their parents had sat down for dinner, the royal family ate first in their pride, and the rest of the members when they got finished. Yamina tore into Her portion of meat and gobbled it down quickly, while Her brother ate slowly, still thinking about Simba.

"Mom?" Josiah called, "can I ask you something?"

"What is it son?" She replied, after She swallowed Her meat.

"Don't you think Simba's behavior was weird?" Josiah asked, getting right to the point.

"Slightly yes," Afia responded, "why do you ask?"

"Well I think His Dad hits Him," Josiah said outright, without thinking.

"Son, you should never make such serious accusations without proof!" King Baako scolded, before scarfing down more meat.

"What would make you say that?" Afia asked.

"It's just because He was acting so weird today," Josiah shrugged, "and He lied."

"About what?" Afia questioned, furrowing Her brow.

"About how He got those scratches," Josiah said, "first He told us His Father did it, then He said hyenas did it."

"Have you ever met His Father?" Baako asked, now interested in the conversation.

"No, I don't really know what He's like I guess," Josiah told them, "Simba never mentions His parents at all."

"All you can do then is talk to Him," Baako said, "we can't really do anything."

"Your Father's right, but if you find out anything more tell us okay?" Afia said gently.

Josiah opened His mouth to protest, but decided it was best not to, His parent's did have a point. He would see Simba again in a couple of days anyway, He would talk to Him then. Hopefully Simba wouldn't be angry anymore, and wouldn't take His concern the wrong way.

After the royal family finished dinner, the cubs were allowed to go outside for a few minutes to get some air before they went to bed, the royal children were the only cubs in the pride, so they only had each other to hang around.

"Yamina?" Josiah sighed, rolling over on His stomach, "have you ever been to Simba's pride?"

"Nah," Yamina replied, before yawning, "He's from the pride lands right?"

"Yeah I think," Josiah replied, "do you think we should go see Him tomorrow?"

"I dunno," Yamina shrugged, "don't you think we should give Him time to cool off?"

"You know Simba, "He bounces back fast, Josiah said, "so what do you think?"

"I guess we could," Yamina said, "we aren't doing anything."

"I'm sure He has other friends there though," Josiah said, "we could meet them maybe."

"That would be cool," Yamina said, yawning once again, "but I think I'll go to bed for now, could we talk more in the morning?"

"Okay, night." Josiah said, stretching out His back legs.

"Goodnight," Yamina said, before getting up and walking back into the den.

Josiah stayed out for a few more minutes, trying to stop thinking about Simba. For some reason, He had a gut feeling something wasn't right, but tried to ignore it. Maybe He was just overreacting, how bad could it really be?

* * *

 _"Um Dad?" Simba called, walking into the den on wobbly paws._

 _"Yes Simba?" Mufasa replied, stretching out His back legs, after waking up from a nap._

 _"Can I ask you something?" Simba asked, wide eyed an innocent._

 _"What?" Mufasa asked, almost completely disinterested._

 _"Why do I have to be King?" Simba asked, cocking His head to the side._

 _"It's in your blood son," Mufasa said Him, "why do you ask?"_

 _"Well, it's just that I don't really know if it feels right," Simba said shrugged._

 _"Oh, and what do you mean by that?" Mufasa asked, raising His eyebrow._

 _"It's just that I don't think I want to be a King when I grow up, "Simba said, "that's not a bad thing is it?"_

 _Suddenly Mufasa's eyes darkened, and He began to clench His teeth in anger._

 _"What do you mean you don't want to be king?" Mufasa growled deeply._

 _"I-I just don't think I would like to," Simba said, feeling the urge to shrink back._

 _I"t's in your blood!" Mufasa snapped, getting angrier by the second, "if you were to give up the throne you would be a disgrace!"_

 _"Can't someone else take the position?" Simba asked, moving back._

 _"No!" Mufasa yelled, "it's your responsibility! you must not be a weakling!"_

 _"B-but I don't want it!" Simba protested, raising His voice slightly._

 _"Then maybe I will have to change your mind! "Mufasa said, darkly, "come here!"_

 _N"-no..."Simba said quietly, knowing what was going to happen._

 _"No?" Mufasa repeated, "how dare you speak to me in that manner!"_

 _Simba tried to run out of the cave, but was stopped when His Father jumped on Him with claws extended growling like some sort of wild animal. The young cub yelled when He felt His Father dig His claws into His chest, and pin Him down to the ground._

 _"I'm sorry!" Simba squeaked._

 _"Your going to be very sorry!" Mufasa hissed._

 _Mufasa dug His claws deeper into Simba's chest, before yanking them out abruptly causing Simba to let out a scream, after this His Father flipped Him over and began to make long claw marks on His back, before beginning to bite His midsection._

 _Simba squirmed trying to get away, but it was no use, Mufasa was far to strong. Mufasa bite down on Simba's midsection until He heard a sickening crack. Simba gasped in shock and pain, unable to do anything else at the moment._

 _Mufasa let go of Simba, then flipped Him over to lay on His back while He gasped for air._

 _"You will learn not to question me one," Mufasa said coldly, "from this day forward your are only my heir and nothing else, you are never to call me your Father ever! Is that understood? "_

 _Simba nodded weakly, and groaned in pain. Soon after this Mufasa walked out of the cave leaving His injured son by Himself. Simba just layed there for who knows how long, unable to move a muscle, eventually the young prince began to black out from the immense pain His own Father caused Him..._

* * *

Simba woke up gasping for breathe, with tears streaming down His face. He had been dreaming about something that had happened when He was very young, He had just barely learned to walk, that was the first time Mufasa had gotten so angry with Him and had beaten Him so badly.

Maybe the problem was just with Simba, He always did something to make His Father upset, perhaps if He was a better son then Mufasa wouldn't be so harsh all the time, and He would love Him. If He could just correct what He was doing wrong, His parents might love Him like He wanted.

Simba looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was going to rise soon, then He remembered today He would be grounded for being late yesterday, atleast He would escape lessons with His oh so wonderful Father!

The young cub decided that it wouldn't make sense to go back to sleep, He was awake anyway. So He just sat up to watch the sun to come up, as He was watching He realized He never really got to see a sunrise before. It was kind of cool to see, He should do this more often.

When the sun came up Zazu came to make sure He stayed put all day long and didn't step a paw off of pride rock. Simba hated Zazu, He always put Him down, was always crabby, He never even cracked a smile!

Mufasa and Sarabi left the den to go do who knows what, while the other pride members basically ignored Simba, and tried to look His way as little as possible. It got pretty boring just sitting there, the time went slowly, eventually Simba made an attempt to leave pride rock.

"Zazu?" Simba called, "could I get a drink from the water hole?"

"No!" Zazu said, impatiently, "you are not to leave!"

"You could come with me," Simba said," I'm thirsty."

"To bad!" Zazu scoffed, "you should have thought of that before you decided to come home late!"

Simba rolled His eyes at Zazu, before plopping back down in the grass, why did everyone have to be such jerks?! Simba thought it would be best not to bother anyone and keep quite, for now anyway.

 _"A nap would be nice."_ Simba thought, rubbing His eyes.

It would be a good idea to catch up on some missed sleep, so He layed down His head on His paws, and began to drift off to sleep.

* * *

"Come on Yamina!" Josiah said, "walk faster!"

"It's not we don't have all day!" Yamina groaned, "we are at the boarder aren't we?"

Unknown to Simba, His friends from the grasslands had come to the pride lands to visit Him. Of course they didn't know Simba's parents didn't allow Him to speak to other cubs, but they would soon find out.

"We are here actually," Josiah said, "it doesn't look to bad."

"What did you expect?" Yamina snorted, barren land with no food, water, "and depressed pride members?"

"Possibly." Josiah replied.

"Your overthinking this," Yamina said, rolling Her eyes, "how long are you going to worry about it?"

"I just have a bad feeling," Josiah said, "I don't know what it is though."

"Your being paranoid!" Yamina sighed, with annoyance, "relax!"

"But-"

"What do you think your doing on my land?!" A deep commanding voice demanded.

The two children whipped around, to see a livid King Mufasa. Needless to say He didn't seem to friendly...maybe He was just bad at first impressions?

"H-hi!" Yamina said, nervously, "I'm Yamina, and this is my brother Josiah, we are from the grasslands pride-"

"I don't care who you are!" Mufasa interrupted, "why are you on my land?"

"We were just coming to visit our friend," Josiah said, bravely stepping up, "His name is-"

"None of the cubs here know anyone from the grasslands!" Mufasa snapped, "now leave!"

"Are you sure there isn't anyone here named Simba?" Josiah asked, carefully.

"Simba?" Mufasa said, glowering at Josiah, "how would you know Him?!"

"He comes and plays with us," Yamina chimed in, "He's our friend."

"Simba is my...son," Mufasa responded, struggling to say the word Son, "He is not allowed to play with anyone! let alone leave the pride lands! so it is best if you leave and have no more contact with Him!"

"But why sir?" Josiah asked.

"He doesn't need cubs like you filling His head with nonsense!" Mufasa grumbled, "now I suggest you leave, Simba will not be seeing you again!"

"But sir-" Josiah said, but stopped when He saw Mufasa's expression.

"Thanks anyway!" Yamina said, with disappointment.

The cubs turned away, to go back to their own home, unknowingly making things a whole lot worse for Simba. Mufasa would make sure to deal with Simba as soon as He reached pride rock, He would pay dearly for defying Him!

* * *

 **A/N: It looks like Simba is in deep trouble, find out what happens in the next chapter, things will take quite a turn for the worst, and some unknown secrets will be revealed...**


	3. Chapter 3

Simba woke up out of a dreamless sleep after a few minutes, almost getting no rest. Simba's stomach started to rumble, then He realized He hadn't had anything to eat since the day before yesterday. He could find a field mice around here somewhere, obviously His parents wouldn't let Him eat.

To get His mind off of His thirstiness and hunger, He got up and started to pace back and forth for a few minutes out of boredom, it's not like He had anything better to do.

"Do you have to pace?" Zazu asked, annoyed.

"It's not like I have anything better to do," Simba said, ignoring Zazu.

"Find something else to do!" Zazu huffed, "I hate it when you pace!"

"Well I don't like you, so we are even!" Simba shot back, tired of Zazu.

"Don't you speak to me that way!" Zazu said, indignantly, "I am the King's majordomo!"

"More like a dictator's majordodo!" Simba snapped, "would it kill you to be at least a little nice to me?"

"Why should I?" Zazu sneered, "your hardly even of royal blood!"

"What are you talking about?" Simba asked, stopping in His tracks, "I'm the King's heir."

"Yes, His chosen heir and nothing more!" Zazu laughed, "you mean to tell me Mufasa never told you the truth about your little Family tree?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Simba asked, curiously," I'm apart of the royal family aren't I?"

"Hardly!" Zazu said, smugly.

"But I don't understand what you mean!" Simba said, "are you saying I'm not Mufasa and Sarabi's son?"

"Your correct," Zazu said casually.

"What!" Simba said, with a bewildered look, "how is that even possible? I grew up here!"

"I don't see how Mufasa put's up with you!" Zazu said under His breathe, "let me explain this to you slowly so you will understand! You...did...not...come...from...Sarabi's womb...therefore you...aren't theirs! understand now?"

"I still don't understand!" Simba said, puzzled, "does this mean I'm not a pride lander?"

"I'll let your supposed Father explain that to you," Zazu grinned, "here He comes now!"

Simba looked up and saw Mufasa coming towards them, looking cranky as usual.

"Zazu leave!" Mufasa ordered firmly.

"Gladly!" Zazu smiled, "you don't give me enough perks to put up with Him!"

Zazu flew off without another word, leaving Simba and Mufasa alone.

Before Simba could say anything, Mufasa smacked Simba directly in His face, sending Him crashing to the ground. Simba was stunned, wondering why Mufasa just did that, what had He done now?!

"Haven't I told you not to leave the pride lands?!" Mufasa roared.

"What do you m-mean?" Simba asked, putting His paw on His now bleeding cheek.

"I ran into your little friends today!" Mufasa said, each word dripping with hate, "did you honestly think I wouldn't find out?"

"How did you find them?" Simba asked, trying to get to His feet.

"They came to see you!" Mufasa said with disgust, "but that won't happen again! as long as you are my heir you'll follow my rules! If you ever try a thing like this again I'll-"

"But I'm not your heir am I?" Simba interrupted, somehow gaining the courage to confront His Father.

"What are you talking about?!" Mufasa asked.

"I'm not your cub am I?" Simba repeated.

"Who told you that?" Mufasa demanded.

"Zazu," Simba admitted, "He said I'm not really your cub, or royal."

Mufasa said nothing for a moment, and just glared at Simba.

"Is that true?" Simba asked again.

"Yes," Mufasa admitted, "your not my son, I choose you as an heir to my throne, to have someone carry on when I die."

"If I'm not your cub, am I not a pride lander either?" Simba wondered.

"That is something you don't need to know!" Mufasa mumbled, pushing past Simba.

"Why not?" Simba questioned, walking after Mufasa.

"It doesn't matter!" Mufasa said, raising His voice slightly, "your a pride lander now and that's all there is to it!"

"But why won't you just tell me?!" Simba nearly pleaded, "don't you think I should know?"

"For the final time I have told you no!" Mufasa said, barring His teeth," forget what Zazu told you, you belong to me now and your not going anywhere!"

"I just want to know!" Simba begged," can't you tell me why you choose me in the first place?"

"You really want to know?" Mufasa said lowly, bending down to Simba's level to stare into His eyes.

Simba nodded in respone.

"Fine," Mufasa said, "I couldn't have an heir of my own, so I decided to search for my own, and I found you, took your as my own, then raised you."

"That's it?" Simba said, staring at Mufasa with anger.

"I'm won't tell you anything more, "Mufasa said, plainly, "this is your home now, if anything you should be grateful to me."

"Grateful!" Simba said, with outrage, "for what?!"

"You get the chance to be a king!" Mufasa replied, "why would you want to sacrifice all of that for the life you used to have?"

"Because I don't belong here!" Simba nearly screamed.

"And were are you going to go?" Mufasa laughed, you know no one outside of the pride lands besides those friends of yours! you don't know how to survive on your own! you know nothing!"

"I'll go home!" Simba stated, "back to were I'm from!"

"You don't even know were it is!" Mufasa said, laughing harder, "you have no choice but to stay here!"

"Then I'll go stay with Yamina and Josiah!" Simba argued.

"Go ahead! you'll only be dragged back here in a few days!" Mufasa replied, "do you really think I will let my only heir get away that easily?"

"Why won't you just let me go?" Simba asked desperately.

"Face it Simba you will always belong to me!" Mufasa said, enjoying Simba's distress, "no matter were you go or what you do I will always find you!"

"Why can't you just find another heir?"

"Do you know how much more work that would be? "Mufasa said, uncaringly, "your the perfect fit, you look just like me! that way nobody will ever know that aren't really my son."

"I don't have a choice do I?" Simba sighed, giving in slightly.

"It's about time you realized that!" Mufasa said, exasperatedly, "we could do this the easy way or the hard way, the choice is entirely up to you."

"Fine," Simba gave in, "I won't mention it anymore."

"Good," Mufasa said, nodding with satisfaction, "from know own you will be under constant observation, you are not to leave pride rock without supervision, so don't even bother trying to run."

Simba nodded with defeat, and hung His head low.

"Now go up to the den," Mufasa ordered.

Simba walked past Mufasa and began to ascend to pride rock, not looking back at Him once. How could this be? that Simba wasn't really of royal blood? or a pride lander at all? who was He supposed to be then? Mufasa outright refused to give Him anymore information about who He truly was, so there was no way to know.

"Oh and Simba?" Mufasa called to Him.

"Yeah?" Simba answered.

"Don't feel to upset, your parents didn't even want you!" Mufasa replied cruelly.

Simba's heart sank even more after Mufasa said this, how could He be so mean!

"They probably loved me!" Simba mumbled.

"Simba, someone would have to be completely delusional to love you!" Mufasa said coldly," don't give yourself false hope."

Simba began to feel anger swelling up inside of Him, but didn't respond, and instead simply continued walking up the stairs to the den. There was no need to be so evil! Simba had done nothing wrong to Him! if anything Simba was the one who should feel bitter.

How could Mufasa not even tell Him that He had been practically kidnapped? First He stripped Him of His real parents, home, everything! then He had the audacity to abuse Him as well?!

Simba was at a loss for what to do, He couldn't leave the pride lands, or find out more about who He really was, He was just stuck! deep down He did want to know more about who He was, mostly His parents, but He had nowhere to start, Mufasa would never give Him any information, and if He did He would only lie.

For now He would just have to play along with what His "Dad" wanted, but would think of a way to get out of this, somehow. Escaping would be extremely difficult, with Mufasa watching Him like a hawk, He basically had nowhere to go, couldn't take care of Himself, and didn't know how to get around...

All He knew was that He couldn't stay in the pride lands anymore, He had to find a way to get out of this horrible place! It wasn't His place to be a King, He didn't belong here.

He would escape! If it was the last thing He ever did, tonight He would try to leave while everyone was sleeping. After leaving in the night He would say goodbye to His friends, if He could, obviously Simba wouldn't be able to stay with Him, that would be the first place Mufasa would look. Finally Simba would go...well somewhere far away from the pride lands and attempt to start a new life, and maybe find His parents?

No! This idea was all to wild and ridiculous! He would surely die out there all alone on His own, a cub couldn't survive as a rouge! but then again some pride might have to accept Him right? He just had to find the right one, were nobody would know who He was, and no one from the pride lands could find Him ever.

The future was uncertain, but for now Simba just had to focus on getting out of there! and fast before things got even worse!

* * *

Later in the pride lands, long after night fell after everyone fell asleep, Simba still lay awake in the den. He was allowed to sleep inside next to His parents tonight, since He grounding was lifted.

Anyone could guess why He wasn't asleep, He had just figured out His entire life as a prince was all a lie, for goodness sake! but not anymore.

Simba was ready to make His move around midnight, not wanting to spend anymore time in this pride. Simba slowly started to move away from His snoozing parents- on second thought, more like captors, as carefully as He could without waking them. Because Simba was so small, He was able to squeeze out from inbetween them, without waking them up.

Simba let out a small sigh of relief, before continuing to move through the crowd of lionesses and their children. He moved around several bodies, until He reached the den exit. Before exiting the den for what He hoped would be the final time, He turned to look back at Mufasa and Sarabi, giving them a look of sadness.

What was He sad about? They did nothing but treat Him like the dirt underneath their paws ever since they had Him! It was probably just because they were all He had ever known, now He was leaving them for good. But there was nothing to be sad about! this was supposed to be a good thing, wasn't it?

Simba tried to push the doubt He had in the back of His mind away, and began to leave the den, resisting the urge to look back once more.

Some part of Simba, for some strange reason thought He might actually miss this place, He had sort of grown attached to it, growing up here for as long as He could remember, but there was no good reason to stay, this was for the best.

* * *

In the grasslands Josiah couldn't sleep Himself, neither could His sister. They were to busy thinking about the way The king of the pride lands had acted towards them earlier, He wasn't the kindest person they ever met, but that didn't necessarily mean He was abusive, at least in their opinions.

They had left their den to sit outside for some fresh air without waking anyone, neither said a word to the other, because they were wrapped up in their own thoughts. They hadn't told their parents about what happened earlier, it wasn't exactly that serious, but it made Josiah more suspicious, and Yamina's opinion about Him overreacting had changed.

Not being able to see Simba again certainly didn't help matters, how were they supposed to figure out what was going on if they couldn't even talk to Him?

"Hey Josiah?" Yamina said all of a sudden, "do you think Simba got in huge trouble?"

"I don't know," Josiah shrugged, "His Dad seemed pretty ticked when we left."

"I wonder why He won't let Simba have any friends," Yamina wondered, "I mean He's a cub! is it some sort of pride lander rule or something?"

"Who knows?" Josiah said tiredly.

"You know I kind of think you may be right," Yamina said, "about Simba's parents hurting Him, the King didn't seem so friendly."

"I think He is to, but we can't accuse the guy like Mom and Dad said," Josiah pointed out.

"Do you think we are being a little judgmental?" Yamina asked.

"I don't really think so," Josiah replied, after thinking for a moment, "it's okay to be worried your friend."

"Yeah, I guess your right," Yamina nodded, "but it's no use just sitting here talking about it, we can't do anything."

Josiah knew His sister was right about them being totally powerless, but that still didn't stop Him from thinking about it.

"I know that," Josiah admitted, "but don't you think we could do something?"

"Like what?" Yamina asked, wondering what He was talking about.

"I don't really know, but couldn't we think about it?" Josiah asked.

"I don't see what the point would be," Yamina argued, "why worry about something you can't help?"

"Don't you care about our friend at all?" Josiah asked Her, slightly annoyed.

"Sure I do," Yamina said, calmly, "I just don't like it when you worry yourself so much."

"You know you aren't really helping!" Josiah said, glaring at Her.

"Hey, I was only trying to help!" Yamina said, getting defensive, "you don't have to get upset!"

"Well you suck at helping!" Josiah snapped, "so please don't bother!"

"Don't get upset with me just because I'm telling the truth!" Yamina said, anger slowly creeping into Her voice.

"Guys?" Simba called from behind.

They both whipped around when they heard Simba's voice, partly shocked yet happy to see Him.

"Simba! your back!" Yamina said, a little to loudly.

"Shh!" Josiah hissed.

Yamina ignored Him, and ran up to Simba to give Him a nuzzle, Her brother followed closely behind, giving Simba a head bump.

"I thought you weren't allowed to come here anymore!" Josiah whispered, excited to see Simba again.

"Actually that's what I came to talk to you guys about," Simba said, His smile fading, "listen I haven't been completely honest with you."

"About your Dad?" Josiah asked.

"Yeah," Simba nodded, "He doesn't treat me like He should, He abused me..."

"I knew He did!" Josiah hissed towards His sister, "didn't I tell you!"

"That's not the point," Simba continued, "the truth is I'm not really His heir, or His son, He took me from my real parents, and I'm not a pride lander."

"Your joking right?" Yamina asked, hoping this wasn't true.

"No," Simba said, shaking His head, "This is why I have to leave."

"Then you can come stay with us," Josiah offered.

"No I can't," Simba said, sadly," You know Mufasa would come looking for me and this is the first place He would come."

"So were will you go?" Yamina asked, tears welling up in Her eyes.

"I don't know, but I can't stay anywhere near here," Simba said, "I just came to say goodbye to you guys, and I wanted to thank you for being such good friends."

"No problem," Josiah said, trying not to show emotion, "but are you sure you have to so far?"

"Yeah," Simba nodded, about to cry Himself, "I-it's for the best."

"I hope you m-make it out there then," Yamina sniffled, "but you can always come back if you need somewhere to stay."

"Thanks," Simba said, fighting back tears, "maybe I'll see you again?"

"I hope so," Josiah said, forcing a smile, "bye Simba."

"Bye guys," Simba said, letting a single tear slip down His cheek.

"See yah," Yamina smiled through Her tears.

Simba gave them both one last friendly nuzzle, then He took off just like that, certainly not to be seen again for a very long time. Josiah and Yamina were a little baffled by how sudden this seemed, they just couldn't believe their friend was leaving, or the fact that He had been truly abused all His life.

Did He even know were on earth He was going? On one paw it wouldn't be right to let Him leave, on the other it was His life, and what was best for Him at this point in time. Whatever Simba decided to do, Yamina and Josiah would support Him even if He was far away.

Wherever He went, they hoped and prayed it was towards a better, brighter future.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading again, I will update this weekend.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I would like to thank everyone again for reviewing, adding my story as a favorite, or following, I appreciate all of the support. Enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Simba felt completely, utterly exhausted.

He had been walking for who knows how long, not knowing were He was going, He just knew it had to be somewhere far away from His former home. Simba had been walking around aimlessly in the scorching desert ever since the previous night when He had made the brave decision to leave His abusive so called Parents, and went out on His own.

It would be good to have some company out here, there was no other living soul in the desert, except for hovering buzzards waiting to swoop down on a deceased animal, but they would be disappointed! Because Simba vowed not to pass out, at least until He reached some place safe, then He could get food...water...shade!

When Simba thought about food and water, He just remembered He hadn't eaten or drank a thing since a few days ago, partly do to the cruel punishment Mufasa put Him through...

Simba shook His head, trying not to think about all the horrific things Mufasa had done to Him, He may never forget it, but He had to try to push it to the back of His mind, this was a new beginning, no more thinking about old things that happened.

The sun was at it's highest in the sky, being around noon, the hottest part of the day in the desert. When Simba had started walking last night the heat wasn't so bad, since the desert cooled off at night, but now it felt horrible! Simba was used to heat, because the pridelands were often hot, but this was to much!

Simba's legs began to feel wobbly after a while, and He was feelings very light headed all of a sudden, it must have been the lack of water.

The former young prince didn't think He would be able to hold up much longer, there was nothing in sight but miles and miles of desert, did it go on forever or something?!

Simba continued on for a few more minutes, before His legs finally gave out, and He fell to the ground with a thump. Simba groaned in pain, but didn't bother to move, feeling so weak, what was the point of moving?

Simba closed His eyes, wanting to rest them for a little while, He didn't consider the fact that buzzards were still following Him and that He might be picked apart at any moment.

Simba's drowsiness and dizziness began to increase, with all the emotional stress He had bee through in the past 24 hours, mixed with His lack of rest, He quickly gave into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Were is that little brat!" Mufasa roared, pacing back and forth on pride rock, "how could you let Him get away with this you incompetent fool?!"

King Mufasa, was yelling at His loyal Majordomo Zazu, for letting Simba get away, even though it wasn't His fault, and He hadn't been watching Simba at the time.

"I-I have no idea were He went sire!" Zazu trembled, "p-please have mercy!"

"This your fault!" Mufasa said, seething with rage, "this is all your fault Zazu! how could you tell Him!"

"T-tell Him about what Sire?" Zazu stuttered.

"Don't play stupid with me!" Mufasa growled, clenching His teeth, "I know it was you who told Simba the truth! you were the only one who knew! you have ruined everything!"

"I-i'm sorry!" Zazu pleaded, "He was irritating me, and I just wanted to teach Him a lesson!"

"Teach Him a lesson!" Mufasa said, with outrage, "You may have destroyed my entire legacy! You know I cannot have any cubs by Sarabi! I was already grooming Simba to take my place! I need Him back!"

"But how will you find Him sir?" Zazu asked, trying not to look scared anymore.

"I won't, you will!" Mufasa told Him, glaring with hate, "I want you to search every inch of Africa until you find Him! and if you don't, your fired! so don't think about coming back!"

"Sir, do you know how long that may take?" Zazu argued.

"Are you questioning me?" Mufasa asked, nearly spitting each word out," how dare you! you will do as I say you fool! I am the king and what I say goes!"

"Y-yes sire!" Zazu said, nearly shaking, "I'll look straight away!"

"Good!" Mufasa huffed, "now I will go look in the grasslands, knowing Simba that's were He might have gone, now go Zazu!"

Zazu bowed respectfully, then flew off quickly not wanting to spend another moment with the infuriated King.

Sarabi had been standing beside Mufasa stiffly without an expression, not saying one word the whole time Mufasa had ranted.

"My King, don't you think you are overreacting?" Sarabi sighed, quietly.

Sarabi wasn't allowed to call Mufasa by His first name, or hardly address Him at all, She was just there to give Her opinion when needed, and present Herself as a loving mate, nothing more.

"Your telling me how I should and shouldn't behave?" Mufasa growled, "don't treat me like a child Sarabi! I can do whatever I want! just be a good little wife and keep your mouth shut!"

"I was simply saying that if Zazu fails to return with Simba you should look into other options for an heir," Sarabi replied, dryly.

"What are you talking about?" Mufasa scoffed, "you know full well your to dried up and old to produce another child without more complications, everyone we have had has been stillborn."

"I was talking about my young niece," Sarabi added, "Naada's young teenage daughter Aisha."

"What does She have to do with it?" Mufasa asked, raising His eyebrow with curiosity.

"She is old enough to produce cubs," Sarabi said, "She looks a lot like me, and if She were to mate with you, the baby would have both of our features."

"Naada would never agree to letting me mate with Her daughter!" Mufasa said, "but then again...She would have no choice if I ordered Her to!"

"You should consider it incase you do not find Simba," Sarabi said, "She is barely out of cub hood, but would have to do."

"Well, Aisha does have a certain attractiveness," Mufasa purred, "something you quite frankly never had, but I will consider this idea later, for now I am going to the grasslands to look for Simba, while I'm gone, your in charge."

"Yes my king," Sarabi said, bowing low to the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile Simba's two little friends Josiah and Yamina were moping around their home not really in the mood to play that day, after all they had just lost their best friend, now they only had each other. By now, they both looked like raccoons, with the dark circles around their eyes to lack of sleep.

They had been up all night, talking and worrying about Simba. Yamina couldn't help but think that they had made things worse for Simba, by going to see Him yesterday, His Father only got upset because they came, His wrath must have been what caused Simba to leave, along with the other interesting things He found out about His heritage, and family.

Josiah and Yamina were walking around close to the den, not wanting to go to far off from home.

"It's are fault isn't it?" Yamina wondered aloud, "it's our fault Simba left."

"How could it be our fault?" Josiah responded glumly, "we weren't the ones who beat Him up."

"I know, but we made Mufasa angry didn't we?" Yamina rambled, "if we hadn't gone there maybe Simba wouldn't have gotten into trouble! and decided to leave!"

"Yamina, odds are something else would have happened to cause Simba to leave," Josiah said, trying to calm Her down, it wasn't our fault."

"Yes it was!" Yamina insisted, "if I had just listened to you in the first place and hadn't been so skeptical about it-"

"It still wouldn't have helped," Josiah interrupted, "we couldn't do anything like you said last night, I thought about it and you were actually right."

"No I wasn't!" Yamina protested, "I was being stupid and insensitive! how could I have been so blind! we should have convinced Him to stay!"

Josiah processed what Yamina had said, then came up with an answer He thought would change Her mind.

"Listen, if Simba had stayed He would have just been more of a punching bag," Josiah reasoned, "He might have even ended up like Mufasa after a while, is that what you want?"

"No, but what if something happens to Him?" Yamina asked, "I would never forgive myself because we let Him leave!"

"The only way we could keep Simba here is if we knocked Him out and tied Him up," Josiah joked, trying to lighten the mood slightly, "He'll be fine, if He can survive the pride lands, He could survive on His own."

Yamina sighed inwardly, still not sure they did the right thing.

"I still feel like it's partly our fault though," Yamina sighed, looking down at the ground while shuffling Her paws.

"Come on, let's just go back to the den," Josiah said, putting a comforting paw on Her shoulder, "we could use some rest anyway."

"I guess," Yamina said, still looking down.

As they were walking back to their den, all of a sudden they heard yelling coming from their parents, and what sounded like King Mufasa, who they just only met a day ago.

The cubs shared a look of worry, before racing over to their den, when they reached the entrance they saw Mufasa, fighting with both of their parents.

"Were is my son?!" Mufasa demanded, seething with rage.

"For the final time we have told you we don't know!" Afia frowned.

"You have to know!" Mufasa persisted, "He comes here everyday to play with your little rats doesn't He!?"

"He does," Baako replied, trying to ignore the fact that Mufasa had just insulted His children, "but that does not mean we know were He is!"

"Your hiding Him somewhere aren't you!" Mufasa screamed.

"Don't be absurd!" Afia said, offended, "I can assure you that we have never told a lie, and we have no idea were your son is!"

"He ran away!" Mufasa said, glaring deeply into Her eyes, "I thought you would know something about it!"

"We do not!" Baako said, losing His patience, "now I must kindly ask You to leave our kingdom."

"Your kicking me out!" Mufasa roared, "how dare you!"

"Just who do you think your talking to that way!" Afia asked, appalled, "you should show more decency! If Simba ran away I wouldn't blame Him!"

"What did you just say?" Mufasa said, baring His teeth and getting closer to Afia's face.

"Your heard Her," Baako growled back, "You should show more respect towards us, this is our kingdom and we don't appreciate that you barged into our home so rudely, now leave right now! and you are not welcome back!"

Mufasa briefly glared at the royal couple, before growling with frustration and turning around to leave. On His way out, He passed by Josiah and Yamina. He stopped gave them both looks of disgust, before leaving to go back to His own home.

"How could He be so disgustingly rude!" Afia said to Her husband.

"I wonder how such awful animals have such nice children!" Baako said in reply, "after today I really truly feel for Simba."

Josiah and Yamina gave each other looks of fear, if Mufasa was searching for Simba and found Him, things would take a turn for the worst. Josiah was debating with Himself if He should tell their parents about what was going on, but if Simba had gotten away for good then their would be no need.

They would just have to wait and see if anything occurred in the next few days, until they made their next move.

 _"Simba, be safe!" Both of the children thought at the same time._

What could be happening to Simba right now? hopefully some mysterious wonderful thing had happened, and He had been found by a loving, kind person, One could only hope right?

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you again for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

Simba woke up to sunlight streaming through from the trees into His face, He blinked rapidly and coughed due to His dry throat. After He opened His eyes He looked left and right, seeing a bunch of tall leafy lushes trees, and plant life all around Him.

Were the heck was He?

Simba groaned in pain, still a little gorgy from passing out in the desert. Suddenly someone put a wet leaf on His forehead, instantly Simba shot up but was pushed back down gently by a lioness with light brown fur.

"Your finally awake," The lioness said softly, "I was getting worried you might not after a few days."

"Days?" Simba said, in a raspy voice, "h-how long was I asleep?"

"About a day or two, "The lioness replied, "Your lucky I found You when I did, You nearly died out there, how did You get here in the first place?"

"Uh, I-I can't tell you," Simba muttered, not wanting to tell this stranger His life story.

"You must be a runaway then," The lioness sighed, putting another sopping wet leaf on Simba's head to keep Him cool.

"Why would You think that?" Simba asked, clearing His throat.

"Kids like You come through this jungle all the time after they run away from their homes," She said rolling Her eyes, "none of them last to long, and eventually go back to their pride, it's an age thing I suppose."

"I didn't runaway really," Simba said, "I just had to get away from my home."

"Why is that?" She questioned, "did your parents make you go to sleep to early?"

"Not for reasons like that..."Simba said, flattening His ears to His head with sadness.

"I see," The old lioness said, nodding with understanding, "how long do you think you will stay before going back home?"

"I'm not going back to were I grew up," Simba said, with a mixture of bitterness yet longing, "I don't know were my home is."

"Aren't you a little young to be on your own?" The mysterious lioness asked with a hint of concern in Her voice, "You need someone to take care of You, were are Your parents?"

"I haven't got any!" Simba grumbled, "I don't even know who they are!"

That's when Simba realized they were one of the reasons He left the pride lands in the first place, how could He have forgotten so quickly! finding out were they were was nearly impossible, He knew nothing about who they are or were they were from! maybe when or if He did find the right place, He would know it, He knew He didn't belong as a prince in the pride lands didn't He?

"You were taken in by someone then I'm guessing?" She guessed, "and you feel out of place, like you don't belong?"

How did She know this?! It was scary how older animals could basically read your thoughts and say what you have been thinking!

"Yeah," Simba said, "what do you think I should do?"

Yes, it was strange to confide in a complete stranger about your personal problems, but this lioness seemed to be trust worthy enough, afterall She did save Him, She deserved some type of explanation, but then again it wasn't Her problem to worry about.

"I would say that You were better off being at home," She responded after a moment of thought, "if these animals who took You in and cared about You enough to raise you, then they must love You just the same as your parents would."

Boy, She didn't know the half of it! This would be great advice for a cub who hadn't had abusive parents! and hadn't been kidnapped, and forced to follow in a tyrants footsteps!

"Thanks!" Simba said, dryly.

"Your looking better already!" She said, "Oh, forgive me! I never told you my name, I am Suhad."

"It's nice to meet you," Simba said, trying to force a smile.

"Likewise," Suhad smiled back.

"Do you live out here all alone?" Simba asked.

"No, my daughter Asharia," Suhad said, "She is a little older than You."

"When do you think I could get outta here?" Simba asked, eager to keep moving.

"Once You feel strong enough," Suhad said, "You should think about what I said though, and consider going back home."

Should He go back? Suhad had a good point, about having nobody to take of Him, He wasn't big enough to hunt, and needed a sense of stability while growing older, but being in the pride lands would hardly offer either of those things, Yes it was somewhere to go, although Mufasa was getting more and more abusive each day, and sometimes did deprive Him of food.

After considering Her side, and personal experience He thought it was best to never look back, and to keep moving forward, it was hard doing this being so very young, but He had no choice. Simba would stay in the jungle with this lioness for a few days, then take off near the end of the week, knowing Mufasa He must have sent Zazu, or someone from the pride lands to search for Him, He had to keep moving to stay free.

* * *

In the pride lands, while Zazu was searching franticly for Simba, Mufasa had other plans on His mind. He had thought about what Sarabi said earlier that day, about producing another heir in case Simba could never be found, He planned on using Naada's daughter Aisha to make a baby.

Aisha was practically a child Herself, but still old enough to reproduce. Mufasa actually found Her quite attractive, She was young, spunky, feisty, but mild mannered at the same time.

Aisha was resting on a sun bathing rock near pride rock, by Herself late in the day. This was perfect! the lionesses were out on a hunt, to bring back antelope for the evening, they wouldn't be back until sundown, so He had just enough time to do what had to be done.

If Simba didn't come back it would be better safe than sorry to try and make another heir.

Mufasa slowly walked over to the sleeping form of His niece by marriage to Sarabi, and gently brushed Her cheek with His muzzle, as He purred seductively.

"Hmm?" Aisha groaned softly, waking up out of Her sleep.

"Hello Aisha," Mufasa purred, looking Her up and down.

"H-hi King Mufasa," Aisha stuttered, taken back by how strange He was acting, "what brings you here?"

"As you may know, my only heir Simba seems to have disappeared," Mufasa said, stroking Her chin with His tail.

"W-well I'm sorry to hear that," Aisha said, resisting the urge to jerk away from Him.

"Don't be," Mufasa said, licking His muzzle, "It seems I will just have to explore other options for an heir to my throne."

For a moment, Aisha thought Mufasa was going to ask Her to be His new heir, but then realization hit Her, and She figured out that Mufasa wanted Her to produce His heir.

"W-what's that?" Aisha asked, starting to get uncomfortable.

"Aisha, your spry, young, incredibly attractive if you ask me..."Mufasa said, beginning to run His claws down Her back, "I would like You to help me make an heir."

Aisha's eyes widened with shock and disgust.

"W-what!" Aisha screamed with horror, "why me? why not someone else?"

"You have the looks," Mufasa told Her, looking Her up and down once more.

"B-but I'm to young!" She protested, "does my mother know about this?"

"Even if She did it wouldn't matter," Mufasa grinned slyly, "I am your King, therefore you must do as I ask."

"But I don't want a cub!" Aisha shrieked, "I can't get p-pregnant!"

"Don't worry about that," Sarabi will take the cub, Mufasa said, "you just have to feed and nurse it for a few months."

"No!" Aisha said firmly, "I will not give you a cub!"

"Fine then," Mufasa said calmly, "if you insist on being stubborn I will have to take drastic measures."

Before Aisha could say another word, Mufasa had climbed on top of Her, and pinned Her down to the rock She was laying on.

"Mufasa stop!" Aisha yelled, trying to move out from under Him.

"Shut up! "Mufasa hissed back, "You say one word and I will make you regret it!"

Aisha struggled to get Mufasa off of Her, but it was no use, He was much to strong for Her. Aisha gasped when Mufasa put His muzzle inbwtween Her legs, and began to lick Her roughly. The young lioness began to whimper and cry while He was doing this.

Why must He be so cruel all the time? what had Aisha ever done to deserve this?

As Mufasa began to suck on Her, Aisha tried to stop Herself from crying out in pain, there was no use in fighting Him, She could do nothing about what His was doing to Her. Aisha just lay there, crying Her eyes out, waiting for this nightmare to be over...

* * *

Later that night after dinner was over, Naada noticed that her daughter hadn't shown up. She questioned Sarabi, asking if She had seen Her daughter anywhere, and Sarabi acted as if She didn't know a thing. The truth was the Queen knew were Her daughter was, and what had happened to Her, but didn't want to tell Her frantic sister the truth.

Naada had wanted to go look for Her, but Sarabi insisted that She stay in the den to wait for Her to come back, convincing Naada that Aisha was just as that age, and was going to stay out late. Naada, respecting Her sister's word did what She said, and waited patiently outside the den for Aisha to come back.

She waited, for nearly one hour, after that Mufasa had shown up, and walked into the den without saying a word to Naada, what was He doing out so late? Usually he hardly ever got off of His rump and left the den!

Naada thought about asking Mufasa if He had seen Her daughter, but figured that He wouldn't care if She was missing. Eventually the impatient lioness grew tired of waiting and went out to look for Her daughter, what if something happened to Her? Staying out late without asking just wasn't like Her at all!

Naada checked the water hole, the hunting grounds, the fields, the acacia grove, Rafiki's tree, the river, still nothing! Finally Naada checked down by the sunbathing rocks, and found Her daughter laying on a rock, with marks all over Her body, crying bitterly.

"Aisha!" Naada gasped, rushing over to Her daughter quickly, "and nudging Her gently, are you okay?"

"N-no!" Aisha sobbed, "Mom, H-he attacked me!"

"Who attacked you?" Naada asked, even though She already knew who.

"M-mufasa!" Aisha cried, "He hurt me!"

"Hurt you how?" Naada asked, helping Her daughter off the rock and onto Her feet, "He just beat you up?"

"N-no!" Aisha said in distress, "H-he told me I had to do it! H-he said He needed an heir!"

"Aisha what did Mufasa do to you?" Naada asked, fearing the worst.

"H-he forced Himself on me!" Aisha said, burying Her face into Her mother's chest, "I-I was just sitting here this afternoon, when He came u-up to me and told me Simba had gone missing! so He needed a new heir!"

"He did what?!" Naada growled, barring Her teeth.

Aisha was to upset to say anymore to Her mother, and just kept sobbing without another word. How could this monster do that to a child?! What was the matter with Him! He hurt an innocent kid just for His precious little kingdom! Mufasa had always been a control freak, and had always cared about His throne, even as a cub, but was never this bad!

The only reason He was King, was because He had murdered His own brother and either killed, or exiled every male cub before they became strong enough to challenge Him, The kingdom wasn't like this until Mufasa's Fathers death, when He was a young boy. After King Ahadi's death, His brother took control of the pride and raised Mufasa to become the scum His was today, things turned for the worst after that.

The only reason Sarabi had married Mufasa was because they were betrothed since birth-

A thought suddenly dawned on Naada, and She nearly gasped out loud. Sarabi played a part in what happened today, She was the one who had covered for Mufasa, and tried to get Naada to stay in the den, how could She? they were supposed to be sisters! This was Her niece! how could She betray them both in such a horrific way?

Naada couldn't believe what was happening right now, how could this be happening? She would certainly be having words with Mufasa and Sarabi the following day, not right not now because Her daughter needed Her.

They both would be sorry for the pain they had caused Her child! They would get what was coming to them soon enough, things could not continue on like this, the pride was falling apart, a change needed to come before more lives were ruined.

* * *

 **A/N: I would like to thank everyone for reading my story once again, I apologize if the rape scene was to graphic for some viewers, I tried not to add to much into it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sorry I didn't update for two days.**

* * *

"What is the matter with you?!" Naada screamed, nearly shaking with rage, "how could you do this!?"

In the pride lands, Mufasa and Sarabi sat in the den listening to Naada scream at them, but Her cries fell on deaf ears. Naada was so upset because of what Mufasa had done to Her only daughter the previous night, He had viciously attacked and raped Her, in order to have a proper heir.

Naada's daughter Aisha was just about a cub Herself, and had no business being a pawn in Mufasa's sick little game, and He did this all for His precious kingdom! The Lion was completely insane! how could He mortify a child just to have an heir to carry on in His place?!

"Naada, it was necessary for the good of the pride," Sarabi said, staring at Her sister blankly.

"The good of the pride!" Naada yelled with rage, "you call raping an innocent child for the good of the pride?! not to mention you did this to your own niece! Sarabi you are my sister! how could you not support my daughter and I?!"

"Do you honestly believe I would go against my ruler because of an emotional attachment?" Sarabi responded plainly, You must simply except what occurred and move on!"

"How could you be so evil?!" Naada scoffed, with pure disgust, "you both are just awful! do you not care about anyone but yourselves? this is not what are pride was built upon!"

"I believe I know what the pride stands for far better than you do!" Mufasa said, smirking at Her.

"Oh spare me! your Father would be ashamed if He could see you today!" Naada said, shaking Her head, "and it would break your mother's heart! you know they taught you better than this!"

"My parents have been dead ever since I was a cub!" Mufasa said irritably, "It was my uncle who raised me to become what I am today."

"Yes, a lair, a child abuser, a tyrant, rapist, and a murderer!" Naada fiercely, "You are not a true King, and I hope you pay dearly for all the suffering you have caused one day! You won't get away with this much longer!"

"Oh? and who's going to stop me!" Mufasa challenged, with a look that momentarily gave Naada chills, "You? no one is strong enough to defeat me!"

"Maybe not, but trust me you will get your punishment in due time!" Naada shot back.

"I'm shaking with fear!" Mufasa joked.

"If you have nothing else to say would you kindly leave us?" Sarabi asked clearly not paying attention to Her sister.

"What's happened to you?" Naada said, your not the Sarabi you used to be.

"I grew up, you should do the same!" Sarabi stated, before turning Her back on Her sister.

Naada softened Her face towards Her sister, standing there to stare at Her for a few brief seconds, before twisting Her face back into a frown. Naada then exited the cave, to go speak to Her distressed daughter who had been standing outside listening the whole time the argument was going on.

When Naada noticed that Aisha wasn't present for the evening meal, She went out to look for Her, then discovered Aisha laying on a rock crying Her eyes out, She looked so torn apart, so broken. Naada ran over to Her daughter's side, and questioned Her about what was wrong, that was when Aisha told Her mother what Mufasa did to Her.

Naada was furious when She found out, but Aisha begged Her not to say anything to Mufasa until the next day at least, She needed time to calm down, or She might have tried to kill Mufasa, it would have just made things worse to confront Him so out of control.

"Why did He do it to me mom?" Aisha asked Her, looking up with wide teary eyes.

Naada sighed with sadness, and pulled Her daughter into Her embrace.

"Because He is just pure evil," Naada said truthfully, "He had no right to do this to you, and I am so sorry this happened, your to young for all this."

"Do you think I will get pregnant?" Aisha sniffled, scared.

"Don't worry about that," Naada said, stroking Her head, "If you do I will help you through it."

"But if I don't won't Mufasa keep trying to make me have an heir?" Aisha inquired.

"No, because I will never ever let Him hurt you again," Naada said firmly.

"You know you can't promise me that," Aisha scowled, "He's the king, we would have to obey Him, we need someone to help us!"

Deep down, Naada knew Aisha was right, Mufasa had become to powerful to overcome on their own, they would need help to overthrow Him from another pride, they needed good strong rulers that could mend all the damage that had been done.

"If I do get pregnant will it hurt to give birth to the baby?" Aisha couldn't help but ask.

"Aisha-"

"Please?" Aisha begged, "just tell me so I will know."

Yes, it is very painful, especially for someone of your age, Naada said, forcing the answer out, now no more talk of being pregnant.

Naada was in denial to the fact that Her daughter may ever get pregnant by Mufasa, it was a strong possibility although there was no way to tell since it was so early after what happened...Naada just couldn't imagine Her daughter being pregnant by that monster!

How would the poor child feel more importantly? Having a son or daughter born from a forced sexual experience, Her little girl should have been an adult, with a loving mate, and a child born out of pure true love, passion, not this way! Ontop of all of this, how could She even handle being pregnant? The child birthing process could kill Her because of Her age, Her body wasn't ready to handle it yet.

They couldn't focus on what could be, they had to think about what was going on now, how would Aisha recover from this awful experience? It would surely weigh her down, and stick with Her for the rest of Her life.

Aisha hadn't been able to sleep the night before, She stayed awake all night long thinking about what Mufasa had done to Her, and grew to fear Him more than She already did...

* * *

At the Jungle, Simba had made good progress as far as recovering, and was able to walk around a little bit, not to far from were He had to rest however. Suhad and Asharia left Simba there for a few minutes to go fetch some food for Him, all they had in the jungle were fruits, not what lions usually ate, but it would have to do for the time being.

Unknown to them Zazu had just flown through the desert all night without stopping, and had reached the jungle as the were walking. Zazu had to make sure He checked everywhere until He could go back to the pride lands, the jungle looked uninhabited, but like some place a cub would think to hide. It was fairly large, but The king demanded that Zazu search every inch of Africa.

This little brat was causing to much trouble! If He was dead, Zazu would be aswell! Obviously the King was not above execution.

Zazu entered the jungle, and didn't have to look far before He saw a lioness and a lioness cub walking through the jungle going about their daily routine. Zazu decided there would be no harm in going down to see if they knew anything about were Simba may be.

"Good morning madam!" Zazu said, respectfully, after landing at Her feet.

"Good morning to you as well," Suhad nodded back.

"Pardon my interruption but have you seen a young lion cub around here anywhere?" Zazu questioned, "His name is Simba."

"Yeah, we know who Simba is," Asharia chimed in, "why?"

"Well it seems the boy has run away from home," Zazu said, "His parents have been looking frantically for Him for days!"

"Parents?" Suhad frowned, "Simba told us He didn't have any parents, He said that He had never known them!"

"Well that is quite untrue," Zazu lied, "His parents are the King and Queen of the pride lands."

"Does that mean Simba's a prince?!" Asharia gasped, looking up at Her mother.

"Yes," Zazu replied, it does, "I'm afraid young Simba has tricked You, He ran away simply because He did not want the responsibility of running a kingdom when He is of age, You see if He wasn't returned immediately it would break His poor Father's heart!"

Unfortunately Suhad was buying into Zazu's act, not knowing He was lying right through His giant beak. Simba had never told Her the real reason He left the pride lands, thinking He wouldn't be found, so how could She have known this was all a terrible lie?

"I see," Suhad said, with disappointment in Her voice, "He is staying with us at the moment."

"Excellent!" Zazu smiled, "now were is He? I need to collect Him and take Him back to the pride with me!"

"He's just a few minutes away," Suhad said, I'll show you were to go.

Suhad and Asharia led the way to were Simba was resting, when they got there Simba was sure to be in for quite a shock. Zazu grinned slyly while both were looking away, happy that he had tricked these simpletons into believing His lies wholeheartedly, He was such the genius!

Once they reached Simba, they found Him laying down on the bed of leaves, with His eyes closed, taking a little catnap. Suhad nudged Him awake with Her paw, Simba groaned and opened His eyes to see Zazu standing a few feet away from His face. Simba gasped and moved away from Zazu, how did He get here! this place was supposed to be safe enough for at least a few days!

"Young master! do you know how much trouble you have caused!" Zazu scolded, "You are coming back to the pride lands instantly!"

"W-what?! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Simba snapped angrily.

"You have no choice!" Zazu said indignantly, "it is time for You to face up to your responsibilities!"

"Zazu You know I don't belong in the pride lands!" Simba frowned, "and Mufasa is not my Father! He is an abusive sicko!"

"Simba what are You talking about?" Suhad asked, looking back and forth between the to.

"Zazu probably lied to you!" Simba told Her, "I'm not really the prince of the pride lands! You see I-"

"Oh this is nonsense!" Zazu interrupted, "He is just trying to get Himself out of trouble! Are you really going to believe some lying runaway or a trusted advisor of the King Himself?"

"I'm not lying!" Simba insisted, "Zazu is! I was taken from my home as a baby!"

"How would you know a thing like that?" Suhad asked.

"Because Zazu told Me!" Simba answered.

"I never did any such thing! "Zazu said calmly, "really Simba, this is not time to be making up wild stories! If You will not come willingly I will go and get Your Father myself! Would you both kindly keep Him here until I return with the King?"

Suhad looked back and forth between Zazu and Simba, trying to figure out which one of them was telling the truth. This Zazu seemed like a dignified trustworthy animal, and it wasn't exactly uncommon for a cub to tell lies about their parents. After a moment of debating with Herself, She decided it was best to trust Zazu, and to send Simba back home as soon as possible.

"Yes, I will." Suhad said in agreement.

Simba's mouth fell open in disbelief, how could She trust that lying snake! Why hadn't He just told Her the truth in the first place?! Then maybe She would have sent Zazu on His way, and they wouldn't be having this conversation right now! How could He have been so stupid! She would never listen to Him now!

"Suhad let me explain-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Suhad said sharply, "I cannot believe You lied to us!"

"But I never lied!" Simba protested, "well just a little! but I'm really not a prince! or from the pride lands! you have to believe me!"

"Why should I do that?" Suhad asked with anger, "If You told a half truth half lie, You still deceived us! Your staying right here until Zazu returns with Your Father! then I will tell Him everything you told me!"

Simba's eyes nearly popped out of the sockets when He heard the mention of seeing Mufasa again, okay enough was enough! He had to get out of here and fast!

Without warning, Simba took off running leaving Suhad and Asharia behind, there was no way He would be forced to go back to the pride lands to suffer once more! Suhad chased after Him, after telling Her daughter to stay put. Simba dogged several plants and trees on His run, occasionally He would stop and look back to see how close Suhad was to catching Him.

Suhad would have no problem catching Him, because She was swift and a full grown adult. Simba pushed Himself to keep going when He started to run out of breath, Suhad was catching up quickly, so there was no time to stop for rest.

Simba ran so far that He started to feel His chest burning, and His legs aching. Simba sucked it up for the time being, He had been through worse pain than this before! Eventually Simba came to an opening leading out of the jungle,feeling a little more hope than before He exited the jungle without looking back again, just like He did when He left the pride lands.

Suhad had chased Him up until He left the jungle, then She stopped breathing heavily, tired from running such a long way. How would She ever find Him? there was no use She supposed, He was going to do as He pleased, if He wanted to stay on the run for the rest of His life it was His right.

She really did want to help Him though, perhaps that bird Zazu may find Him again wherever He had gone, it was a big bad, dangerous world out there all alone, hopefully He would find somewhere safe and sheltered to live, so He wouldn't just run wild His whole life, That was no way to live.

* * *

 **A/N: So we have come to the end of the chapter, I will post another either tonight or tomorrow. Thank you for Your reviews and support.**


	7. Chapter 7

By now, much time had passed ever since Simba had first fled the pride lands. The years seemed to fly by, but not quickly enough for some. Simba hadn't lived with anyone, let alone had contact with another living animal since leaving the jungle as a young cub, now He was a young teenager, beginning to show signs of growing a mane, He had grown to be bulkier than He was as a cub, but not to bulky, He was an average size.

Simba had noticed as His mane grew, there were brown streaks of hair mixed in with His red mane. Maybe His Father-

Oh what was the use?! Simba was never going to find His real Father in a million life times! He had given up that hope a long time ago, what was He supposed to do? Go around to random Lions and Lioness and ask, Hey? are you my parents? The idea was absurd!

For the years after leaving His former home behind, He had wondered around Africa endlessly sleeping somewhere different every night, and going were He pleased during the day, He was basically just some common rouge, with nowhere to go.

For now, Simba resided beside a river in a green field, there were small prides around but it's members never dared come near Simba's territory. Being on His own for so long He had to learn to be tuff, being by Yourself You had to learn how to fight, and He had His fair share of them, mostly over small things like a scrap of meat.

He had a scar on His side to prove it, He had gotten it sometime ago fighting with another rouge over a sleeping spot, believe it or not there were a lot of dangerous lions roaming around, just looking to pick a fight for no good reason, that's why You couldn't be a wimp.

Despite developing fighting skills, and better instincts over time, Simba got His butt kicked quite often when He was less experienced.

Sometimes it was hard to find food, but fortunately a good chance to catch food came on a hot summer afternoon in midsummer. A nice full grown antelope had wondered over into the territory Simba had claimed as His own, totally unaware that it was about to be lunch.

The antelope bent down to start eating grass, minding it's own business as Simba stalked Him, crouching down low to the ground, trying to keep His body hidden. When the antelope was in the perfect position, Simba pounced it, He sunk His claws deeply into the animal, then His teeth.

But then He noticed someone else had done the same thing, but had attacked the rear of the animal. It was a teenaged lioness, around Simba's age, She had blue/green eyes, and creamy fur, She would have looked very pretty to Simba if She wasn't trying to steal His food!

They both took the animal down at the same time, it was injured but not dead, and lay squirming on the ground.

"Hey?! What's the big idea?" Simba complained.

"I was here first!" The lioness snapped, "I've been stalking this antelope for miles! so back off!"

Who did this princess think She was?! Coming into His home then taking His food?!

"Well why don't you look for a few more miles?" Simba shot back, "this is my meal!"

"Says who?" She challenged.

"Says me!" Simba said defensively, "this is my land, and you are trespassing!"

"I only came to chase down my food!" She argued, "do you know how long I have been traveling!"

"Am I supposed to feel sympathy for You?" Simba asked rudely.

"Ugh! You disgusting rats are all the same!" The angry lioness snapped, "You animals only care about Yourselves!"

"Who are You calling a rat?" Simba growled, getting closer to Her.

"You! Your just a homeless violent wonderer aren't You!" The lioness seethed, "My Father warned me about You!"

"Why don't you go back to wherever You came from then?" Simba demanded, "what is a spoiled, pampered princess like You doing out here anyway!"

"Not that it's any of Your business, but I got lost during a bad storm while I was on my first hunt with the lionesses in my pride," She scoffed, "I was just making my way back today after catching a little snack!"

"Wow, Your life sounds so horrible!" Simba said sarcastically, "meanwhile I have been on my own since cubhood, wandering around fighting for my life every day, I think that beats your problems!"

"Look, we have all got issues okay!" The lioness sighed with exasperation, "why don't we just share it? If you know the meaning of the word share."

"Alright fine, but You could at least tell me what Your name is," Simba replied, lightening up a bit.

"Nala," She said, "You?"

"Simba," He replied simply, "were are you from?"

"The heartlands," Nala answered, "it's not to far from here."

"Never heard of it!" Simba said plainly, "now are you going to kill it or what?"

"Why do You want me to kill it?" Nala asked, "I though it was your meal?"

"You were the one who wanted so badly," Simba shrugged.

Nala rolled Her eyes, but swiftly bit into the antelopes neck ending it's life. After She did this, they both promptly began to devour the animal, they finished it in minutes, both starving. Simba licked His muzzle and burped loudly a few inches from Nala's face.

"Eww!" Nala said with disgust, "didn't anyone teach you manners?"

"Nope!" Simba replied honestly.

It's obvious! Nala muttered, "I think I will be going now, see you around."

"Hey wait!" Simba called after Her, "uh, why don't You stay here for a little while?"

Nala's eyes widened with surprise, He was actually asking to spend more time with Her? was this some sort of trick?

"Your asking me to stay here longer?" Nala asked with surprise.

"Yeah, it's kind of boring out here being alone," Simba admitted, "do You want to take a walk?"

"Sure, but I can't stay long, my parents will be worried about me," Nala agreed.

"Okay, come on," Simba said.

Nala decided to walk with Simba for a little while near His home, what harm could it do? He didn't seem so bad.

"Do You usually stay in one place for long?" Nala asked, in attempt to get to know Him better.

"Nah, I just go wherever I like," Simba responded.

"You have been doing that for Your whole life?" Nala questioned, "You never had a home?"

"You could say that," Simba said, "it's complicated."

"I see," Nala replied thinking about what He said, "what do You mean by that?"

"It would take a lifetime to explain," Simba said, half joking.

"I'm listening," Nala said, all ears.

"You want to hear the life story of a total stranger You couldn't stand just a few minutes ago?" Simba asked, pausing to stare at Her.

"Why not? you don't seem that bad!" Nala said.

"Gee thanks!" Simba muttered, "anyway if You really want to know I'm actually a runaway, I left because my supposed Father was abusive and was trying to raise me to follow in His footsteps, to become a King."

"Really? I'm so sorry! I had no idea!" Nala gasped, with sympathy.

"How could You?" Simba asked, cracking a small smile, "I've never really told anyone before, why don't You tell me about Yourself? nothings really that interesting about me."

Simba didn't know why He had told someone He had met a few minutes ago about His actual childhood, but She seemed pretty trustworthy, certainly easier to talk to than any prying adult.

"Well, I have lived in the heartlands all my life," Nala began still trying to forget about what Simba said, "My Father and Mother are friends of our King, I am training to become a huntress when I am old enough, I am an only cub, I am pretty average."

"Still better than my life!" Simba commented, "I would kill to have a normal life! It would be a little nice to know what that's like."

"You mean having nagging parents who are on Your case all the time?" Nala scoffed, "I'd say You were lucky not to have parents!"

"I wouldn't say that..."Simba sighed glumly.

"I guess, well Hey listen I gotta go! but if You ever want to visit my pride I live beyond that hill over there, it's a huge Kingdom, You can't miss it!" Nala said, pointing directly behind them at a large hill, "I'll see You around sometime?"

"Sure, it was nice talking with You!" Simba said, bidding Her goodbye.

"You two! see you later!" Nala said, before rushing off towards Her home.

At first Simba didn't like this girl, but She turned out to be pretty nice. Maybe He should take Her up on Her offer and visit the pride sometime, it couldn't hurt. Simba hadn't been around anyone for a long time, it was nice to have somebody to talk to after so long.

As Simba watched Nala go, a small smile began to form on His face.

* * *

"Please!" A young male begged in fear, "let me go!"

"I don't think so!" The larger male cub sneered before slitting the innocent cub's throat.

The young cub who had begged for His life, died almost instantly, barely feeling the pain. The other cub grinned proudly and bounced back over to His Father, who was beaming with pride.

"Well done my son!" Mufasa grinned, "Your doing much better!"

Much to Her dismay, Aisha had become pregnant and produced a son for Mufasa, the young boy's name was Jabari. The name was picked by Mufasa, shortly after Jabari was born He was taken from His mother, who willingly gave Him up to Sarabi.

Aisha wanted nothing to do with that child of horror! She resented Him because of the way he was born, and because She knew what His Father would raise Him to be, She wanted no part of that and didn't even acknowledge Jabari as Her own, who could really blame Her?

She was right, because unlike Simba, prince Jabari was turning out to be a monster just like Mufasa! He took mostly after His Father as far as traits. As for looks, He had brown eyes like His mother, but golden fur and rough features like His Father, they were to of a kind!

It sickened Aisha to some extent to watch what He was becoming from a distance, but then She would feel the cub wasn't Her responsibility, it belonged to Mufasa and Sarabi now, and She could do nothing about it.

"I killed two of our male cubs all at once!" Jabari bragged, "didn't I do well Father? I got rid of the rest of them like You asked."

"You did well my son," Mufasa chuckled, ruffling the tuft on top of His head, "but we still must train You even harder than before!"

Jabari was being raised the exact same way Simba had been, just with a little bit more kindness, being that Jabari excepted Mufasa's deluded teaching methods, and was eager to be just like Him.

Even though Jabari was still a young boy, He had developed a hard heart, to all except of course His precious idol, who He followed around every minute of every day.

"What will we do next Father?" Jabari asked eagerly.

"Next we will practice Your fighting skills," Mufasa said, "do You think You are up to the challenge son?"

"You bet!" Jabari agreed, as if this were completely normal.

From not to far away, Naada and Sarabi were watching the young prince and Mufasa as they began fighting with each other, this was not a small playfight, it was an actual fight, not that Jabari could put up much of one being so small, it was really Jabari getting beaten up willingly, because it would make Him stronger.

"I hope Your happy!" Naada said, shooting Her sister a dirty look.

Needless to say, Naada was still ticked off about what Her sister had done to Her daughter, and would never forgive Her for it, She could barely stand to sit next to Her without wanting to kill Sarabi.

"Why must You dwell on the past?" Sarabi sighed, what happened was a long while ago.

"Yes I understand that but as You can see it has long term consequences!" Naada hissed, talking about Jabari.

"If You are talking about my son-"

"No, Jabari is my daughter's son!" Naada snapped, "we all know you cannot have children, why Mufasa keeps You around I have no idea!"

"It is tradition," Sarabi said, ignoring Her sister's comments, "I was intended to marry Him, even if the child is not mine by blood, we have an heir to the throne now, the circle is complete."

"Is that all You think about?!" Naada snapped, "Your precious kingdom and Your precious circle of life?!"

"What else is there?" Sarabi asked, "it is essential that our King have an heir to the throne to keep our kingdom thriving!"

"Look around Sarabi!" Naada snapped, "our kingdom would be destroyed with another King like Mufasa! we are already having a drought! animals are beginning to leave, and our plant life is dying! "

"If You think so badly about this pride why won't you leave with Your daughter then?!" Sarabi questioned, losing Her temper.

"This is still my home regardless of all that!" Naada said sincerely, "I can't just leave it to rot away to dust! like it or not You know I'm right!"

I have no time for this nonsense! Sarabi growled, getting up to walk off.

"Continue to be Mufasa's puppet then just like everyone else!" Naada yelled after Her sister, "but I won't stand for this much longer!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews I have received, I may update later today if I am not to busy. I will be going out of town soon, and school will begin in a few weeks, so I will update less often depending on how much School work I have.**


	8. Chapter 8

It was a dark stormy night, when Simba was outside by the river shivering from the coldness of the heavy rains. It was nearly pitch black that night, no stars were shining in the sky, and the moon was covered by storm clouds.

Earlier in the day it had been cloudy, but it hadn't rained until after night fell. Simba was sorry He hadn't found decent shelter before hand, He didn't think the storm would be this bad tonight! In a few days Simba had planned to move again, to who knows were, then He wouldn't have to deal with this much longer!

As he layed there being drenched, He thought about that girl Nala He had meet about two days ago, She mentioned She was from this pride called the heartlands, not to far from here, maybe He could drop in for the night.

It might alarm the pride for Him to come by unannounced, but it was freezing out here! He needed to go somewhere for shelter! If they were nice like She was, well after He got to know Her, they might let Him stay just until the storm let up.

When lighting started to strike close to the ground, Simba decided it was best to follow His plan to go to the heartlands, and got up to leave His temporary home.

 _"Some days I wish I would have stayed with Suhad!" Simba thought bitterly._

Suhad was a lioness that took Simba in briefly when He was still a very young cub, when He had first gotten out on His own, She was kind to Him and nursed Him back to health, He had made the mistake of not telling Her were He was really from, and what His life was truly like.

A few days after Simba had been rescued, the King's majordomo Zazu found Simba in the jungle, and went back to report to Mufasa that He had been found. But after Simba escaped once again nobody had come after Him, He assumed Mufasa stopped looking for Him after a while.

Simba snapped out of His thoughts when He realized He passed over the hill and saw the heartlands a few feet away. It looked beautiful from here, Simba could see a series of different caves ontop and beside eachother, all of them were near one large den, meant for the royal family. Next to each of the dens were stone steps so Lions could climb to get to their homes.

Surrounding the dens were many tall lushes green trees like in the jungle, the animals that lived in the pride had probably went to seek shelter.

There was no doubt more to the kingdom, but that was all Simba could see from were He was standing.

Simba was grateful to see some sort of shelter, and walked towards the large kingdom without hesitation. Once He entered the kingdom He began to walk on the path to the dens, trying to figure out which one He should go into.

Suddenly someone brush up against His side gently, He looked over to see Nala standing beside Him, She motioned for Him to follow Her up to Her den. Simba gladly followed her up to the second level, and they walked into the first den on the right.

They stood in the cave opening and shook themselves off, getting water on the floor. Nala's parents were sleeping heavily, and weren't aware a guest had joined them.

"I figured You would come," Nala whispered, "I was waiting for You."

"How did You know I would come?" Simba asked, after He shook Himself off.

"Well You shelter isn't exactly top notch!" Nala explained, "I thought You would eventually take me up on my offer and come."

"Does anybody else know?" Simba questioned.

"No, I haven't told anybody about You," Nala said, "but we can worry about that in the morning."

"You sure that Your parents would like to wake up near a total stranger?" Simba asked, becoming nervous.

"They may be a little upset at first, but I'm sure they will like You," Nala said reassuringly, "after they meet You we can go to the King and talk about You staying with us!"

"Who said I was staying?" Simba said, "I just wanted to stay here for the night, then I will be out of Your fur in the morning."

"Why wouldn't you stay?" Nala asked, in attempt to persuade Him, "it is not like You have anywhere better to go."

"But I can't just live here!" Simba protested.

"Yes you could," Nala insisted, "why wouldn't You jump at the chance to have a home?"

"Why do You want me to stay here so bad?" Simba countered.

"I- I don't!" Nala stuttered, "I'm just concerned about You, just slightly."

"Thanks for the concern but I am doing fine on my own!" Simba said, resenting the idea.

"Won't You think about it then?" Nala asked, "I think You might like it, if You gave it a chance."

Simba considered what Nala was saying, He had picked up and moved different places all His life, what was one more?

"I'll think about it okay?" Simba said, giving in a little bit.

"Alright, You should get some rest, You must be tired," Nala said, before yawning, "I know I am!"

"Goodnight Nala!" Simba said, yawning Himself.

"I love you," Nala said tiredly.

"Huh?" Simba said, with a bewildered look.

"I-I meant uh, I didn't mean I love You!" Nala stuttered awkwardly, "I- say that to my parents when I go to sleep! It was a m-mistake!"

"It's okay, I understand," Simba said, trying to stop Himself from laughing at Her as She stuttered.

She actually looked pretty cute to Simba when She was nervous, and stumbled over Her own words. Simba felt Himself becoming attracted to Her, one couldn't blame Him since He hadn't been around a beautiful female for years.

Simba and Nala thought it would be best to just lay down after that awkward moment between the two of them, Simba lay near the very front of the den while Nala went to lay down next to Her snoozing parents.

They both fell a sleep instantly, but they had no idea what they would wake up to the following morning.

* * *

The next morning around dawn, Simba woke up out of a dreamless sleeping yawning tiredly. Simba stretched out His back legs and proceeded to get on His paws, but He was knocked down by a heavy weight and pinned down laying on His back.

Suddenly Simba felt someone's claws on His neck, ready to rip His throat out if necessary. Simba looked up and saw a male Lion that resembled Nala growling down at Him and barring His teeth.

"U-um good morning sir!" Simba laughed awkwardly, "I am assuming Your Nala's Father! pleased to meet You?"

"Who are You?!" The lion growled with anger.

"I'm Simba, your daughter's friend!" Simba replied, trying to push the large Lion off of Him, but He wouldn't budge.

Nala and Her mother Sarafina had woken up, and were standing by watching as Nala's Father Maliki questioned Simba.

"Dad! He's telling the truth!" Nala said on Simba's behalf.

"How did You meet Him?" Maliki demanded, "I have never seen Him around here before!"

"I meet Him the day after I got lost in the storm!" Nala explained, "He helped me take down food to eat!"

"Nala You barely know Him!" Maliki said, turning back to Simba, "were are You from boy?"

"I-I don't have a home," Simba stuttered, intimidated by Maliki's fury.

"You mean to tell me You are a rouge?!" Maliki growled, becoming angrier.

"Maliki, why don't You give the child a chance to explain?" Sarafina asked, trying to reason with Her infuriated mate, "not all rouges are bad You know."

Maliki growled at Simba for a final time, before reluctantly getting off of Simba.

"How did You become a rouge?" Maliki interrogated.

"I ran away from my abusive Father," Simba admitted sadly, "He was a King who tried to use me to be His heir, I wasn't really His son, I don't have any clue as to were I am really from."

"You honestly expect me to believe that?" Maliki ranted.

"Have I given You any reason to think I am a liar?" Simba retorted, "I wouldn't lie about something like that, You can't think I am dishonest just because I have no home!"

Nala was surprised when Simba stood up to Her Father like that, She hadn't seen anybody do that in a long while! Maliki on the other hand was not impressed by Simba's bravado, but knew He had a point.

"Well then if You are telling the truth we should take You to the King to see what He thinks about this!" Maliki snapped.

"Maliki, I believe You owe Simba an apology!" Sarafina frowned.

"Oh fine! I apologize for my harsh behavior!" Maliki said, struggling to say each word, "now follow me outside!"

Wow, this guy was just a ball of sunshine!

Simba followed Maliki outside, to afraid to protest, no wonder Nala hadn't told Her parents about Him before He came! Nala's Father might have killed Him as soon as He reached the Heartlands! He didn't seem like the nicest guy, but maybe He wasn't so bad.

Maliki led Simba to the largest den of them all, the main den were the royal family dwelled. On their way they ran into a Lion that looked a lot like Simba, he had the same facial features as Him, even the same auburn eyes! but a brown mane.

"Sorry!" Simba apologized, after He bumped into the Lion.

"That's quite alright," The lion said kindly, "no harm done! Maliki who is this young lion?"

"His name is Simba!" Maliki said, staring at Simba with annoyance, "He claims to have been a rouge since being a cub!"

"Simba?" The lion said, staring at Simba with shock.

"Is something wrong?" Simba asked, looking back and forth between the both of them.

"No...it's just that Simba was the name of my-" The lion began, before stopping Himself in midsentence, "never mind!"

"Your what?" Simba asked, raising His eyebrow.

"No one!" The lion said quickly, "I must go now, but it was nice meeting you."

The Lion ran off as quickly as He came before Simba could say anything more to Him. Why was he acting so strange? what was the matter with this pride?!

"Who was that?" Simba asked, looking at Maliki.

"That was Akachi," Maliki responded, "He is one of the King's closest friends, He is married to a lioness named Farai."

"Who was He talking about when He said someone He knew had my name?" Simba questioned further.

"He lost a son a long time ago," Maliki said, "He had your same name."

"You mean His cub died?" Simba asked, wanting to know more.

"No, He went missing in the middle of the night as a young baby and hasn't been seen since!" Maliki told Him, "He and His mate searched for Him but couldn't find Him, eventually they assumed He had died."

"Oh," Simba said quietly.

"Let's go to the King now," Maliki said.

Maliki led Simba up to the King's den, when they got inside they saw The King, His mate, and their daughter just waking up from their sleep.

"Good morning King Tse," Maliki said, bowing respectfully to the King and Queen, and Queen Nia.

"Good morning to You as well Maliki," Tse replied, "and who is this You have with You?"

"This is Simba," Maliki said, "He is a friend of my daughter's, a rouge who I found in my den this morning!"

"A rouge?" Tse said, "aren't You young to be out on Your own?"

"Yes, but I ran away from my former home for good reason sir," Simba replied.

"Oh, and what was this reason?" Tse asked.

"I was abused by my parents," Simba told Him, "I ran away as a cub and have been on my own ever since."

"I see," Tse said seeming to understand, "well You are certainly welcomed to stay here if you'd like."

"Tse you can't be serious!" Maliki protested," the boy is just a common rat! how could He handle Himself in a civilized pride?"

Simba started to become angry at Maliki's comments about Him not having a home, this guy didn't even know Him! anyone could easily become a rouge!

"Maliki He is only a child!" Nia interjected, "who are we to just turn Him away?"

"But-"

"Would You like to stay here Simba?" Tse asked, interrupting Maliki's protest.

Simba thought it over for a moment, then decided He should at least try it before He made a judgment about it, unlike Maliki!

"I would thank you," Simba replied after a moment.

"This is absurd!" Maliki argued, "how could You let this, this-"

"Fine then Maliki, if you don't like the idea I will simply ask Akachi to show Simba around instead!" Tse said, cutting Malik off, "would You be so kind as to bring Him to me?"

"But sire Your not be reasonable!" Maliki argued, "I don't believe Your condoning such nonsense!"

"We are helping a harmless boy who deserves a chance!" Tse frowned with a look of disapproval, "wouldn't You want someone to do the same for You?"

"I-" Maliki began to protest, but then thought He shouldn't, and went to fetch Akachi without another word.

"I apologize for Malaki's rudeness," Nia said, "He is not usually like this."

"I've dealt with worse trust me!" Simba said, rolling His eyes, "but I appreciate that You let me stay here."

"It's no trouble, I will have my most trusted pride member Akachi show you around the kingdom, and He will tell You more about our pride," Tse said, smiling kindly at Simba.

"Okay," Simba agreed.

Simba wanted to know more about this Akachi guy, He had acted very strange around Simba when they met.

* * *

When the sun had fully risen, Akachi was taking Simba around the kingdom showing Him were everything was, and explaining about the way things worked.

"Each pride member get's their own den," Akachi explained, "when a Lion and a Lioness get married they move into their own den, King Tse thought it would be a good idea for You to stay with my wife and I for the time being."

"You are the King's closest friend?" Simba asked, interested.

"Yes, and His advisor," Akachi said, "whenever the King is to busy with other matters in the pride and needs help, I am usually the one He calls on for extra help."

"How long have You known each other?" Simba asked.

"Ever since cubhood," Akachi replied, "we have been friends for as long as I can remember."

"You have lived here your entire life right?" Simba asked.

"Yes, my entire family has," Akachi said.

"Um, do You remember when You mentioned someone that I reminded You of earlier?" Simba asked suddenly, not being able to hold back the question.

"I do, why do You ask?" Akachi said, dropping His smile.

"Maliki mentioned You had a son," Simba started, "do You have any idea what happened to Him?"

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't feel comfortable discussing my son," Akachi said, looking quite troubled all of a sudden, "He disappeared without a trace when He was a few days old..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry I was just wondering," Simba said, apologetically.

"It's alright You didn't know," Akachi sighed, "let's just continue on."

Akachi continued to walk with Simba, not saying much after His lost son had been mentioned. Simba understood why the lose of a child was a sensitive subject, but that didn't stop Him from wondering about it. Why was He so interested anyway? it was none of His business! He should just leave it alone, for now.

* * *

Later that day, while Simba was out with Nala getting to know Her better, Akachi had gone back to His den to speak with His mate Farai.

"I'm telling You Farai it must be Him!" Akachi insisted, pacing back and forth.

"How do You know?" Farai questioned, not believing Her mate, "there could be more than one Simba in all of Africa dear."

"No, it wasn't just that!" Akachi insisted, "He looks just like me! don't You feel there is a chance our son is alive?!"

"Yes, I do, but I wouldn't get my hopes up if it isn't truly our Simba!" Farai said with a hint of sadness, "I miss Him as much as You do."

"If it is Him and He really did come back don't You wonder what really happened to Him?" Akachi said, "new born cubs just don't get up and walk off on their own."

"You mean someone could have taken Him?" Farai asked, "it would be nearly impossible for anyone in the pride to do that, could it have been someone we know in another pride?"

"I believe so!" Akachi said, "it must have been someone who lives very far from here, because there has been no trace of our son!"

"Who would do such a thing?" Farai wondered, "it must have been someone who knew us, why else would they take our son out of all the cubs here?"

"There is no way to know," Akachi sighed shaking His head, "as far as I know we have never had any enemies! only friends outside of this pride!"

"Akachi, do You truly believe this boy is Simba?" Farai asked, walking over to Him with a look of concern.

"I do," Akachi said, honestly.

"Then I believe You," Farai said after thinking for a moment, "we should spend more time with Him just to see, if He is ours we would know in our hearts would we not?"

* * *

 **A/N: I would like to thank everyone again for reading and reviewing. I appreciate your support, see You in the next chapter!**


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